Lasers and other various energy types are being used with increasing frequency in a variety of medical procedures. Although lasers make many procedures easier, less painful, and more precise, there are also certain risks associated with using lasers on patients. A primary risk associated with using lasers is the danger of getting laser light in a person's eyes. Even a brief shot of laser light into a person's eyes can cause serious damage and even blindness. Another risk associated with high powered energy devices is that the radiant energy may hit the eye shield and transform into heat energy, thus burning the patient where the eye shield contacts the patient's skin. In medical procedures a specialist must be careful that an inadvertent beam of radiation does not enter a patient's eyes or hit the shield repeatedly to cause the shield to heat up, especially if the specialist is working on a patient's head or face.
In order to minimize this risk, ocular shields have been used to protect the patient's eyes so as to diffuse laser energy that might be inadvertently aimed at the patient's eyes. There are several ocular shields known at the present time. One shield is inserted behind the lids over the patient's eyes. These shields must be the proper size so as to cover the entire globe. Although smaller shields are easier to insert and remove, it is important that the entire globe be covered especially during periorbital surgery. Because of the possibility of discomfort and necessity of inserting shields of this type to protect the eyes, surgeons sometimes use either plastic suntan goggles or simply wet gauze placed over the eyes when not working near the ocular globe. However, when the procedure is closer to the eye, the ocular shields must be inserted beneath the lids in order to provide adequate protection.
Another type of shield is an external ocular protective device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,600. This shield is a protective device that fits over both eyes with a wire piece connecting both protective shields. In this device, the wire connecting the shields may get in the way when the specialist works on certain areas of the face, especially near the bridge of the nose. U.S. Pat. No. 2,283,752 discloses ocular shields connected by a movable wire. However, the problem with this shield is that when the wire is moved upward or downward so it does not interfere with the specialists procedure, the angle and fit of the shields changes on the patient's face, potentially allowing radiation to reach the patient's eyes. This problem is shown in FIG. 19 of the drawings of this application.
Therefore, there is a need for improved external ocular shields that allow the nose piece to be moved without changing the angle or fit of the shields. Any such ocular shields should be autoclavable and totally non-reflective to the medical treatment radiation energy so as to prevent the energy from passing through and reflecting back onto the surgeon or other personnel in the operating room.